Four Year Legacy

These two. Let me tell you about these two. My son Jacob and his teammate Julia are the big brother and sister of the Dunbar High School swim team. They are the only two four-year swim team members, together since freshman year. Let me start by saying they are not a couple in the sense you might be thinking. In four years, they have never dated, and I don't think either one ever thought about it (at least it would be news to me). But here they are, senior year, celebrating each other and an explosion of growth on their team.

In their freshman year, I'm not sure there was even a dozen kids on the team. Standing around at the district meet today, we were joking around with another parent that the whole team could have fit in one car. Okay, maybe two. But the team was small and they weren't even on the map. They had one strong swimmer in a boy who would graduate at the end of the year. I don't think he went to regionals that year. We were barely able to field a relay team, and Jacob as an up-and-comer with the senior boy, struggled to round out a foursome with two other swimmers. The girls were lucky if they could field a relay team at all, because there were four of them total when they all showed up. We really didn't know better. As parents we were grateful our son wanted to be active. He had taken up club swimming the summer before he started high school.

In their sophomore year, Jacob and Julia found themselves in the veteran spots. Their senior captain from the last year, graduated. There were few other returning swimmers, if any. Fortunately, an experienced swim coach signed on and brought with her tons of support for the team. The kids who were left helped recruit at open house, and the sister of the boy who graduated was coming in as a freshman. The team was starting to grow a bit. We had enough kids to swim, and quite a bit of young developing talent. Julia rallied the kids, and Jacob started to lead the events.

They have gotten stronger and bigger each year, and this year there are several other seniors on the team. However, a couple of them are two year swimmers and one of them is a third year swimmer. These two are the only four year varsity swimmers, and they have built quite a legacy. The Dunbar team is a contender. This year there are several swimmers going to regionals and there are lots of young swimmers left behind to continue building the team. The Dunbar Swim Team is going places, and so are Jacob and Julia.

It's been a great four years and we will continue to support the team. I look forward to hearing about all they accomplish, as Jacob and Julia set out for the next phase of their lives. These two...

Jacob on the left, and Julia on the right cheer on their teammate in a race.

Warming up before a race.

They find out Jacob's relay team made regionals after a 3rd place finish at districts.